Who is Nawaf Salam, Lebanon’s prime minister in the midst of political change? | Politics News

Beirut, Lebanon – The appointment of Nawaf Salampresident of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as Prime Minister of Lebanon makes many Lebanese optimistic.

His success in securing enough votes in parliament on Monday ends a rapid period of political change since then Joseph Aoun was elected president last week, filling a seat that had been vacant since 2022.

Aoun appointed Salam to form a government on Monday, and he could serve as prime minister until at least Lebanon’s next parliamentary elections in 2026.

His victory is seen as a boon for the pro-reform movement, after Salam failed to secure enough votes in 2022, losing the premiership to the man he is now replacing, Najib Mikati.

The reform movement, which took to the streets in mass protests that began on October 17, 2019, sees Salam as a man who can speak for them. Although a member of a prominent Beirut family, he did not hold political office in the country and instead reached prominent positions abroad.

“He represents the aspirations of the October 17 movement,” Lebanese journalist and writer Dalal Mawad told Al Jazeera. “This is a man who has a very clear political vision and convictions.”

Salam made his priorities clear in his first speech as a cabinet minister on Tuesday.

“We wasted many opportunities to build the country,” he said. “Lots of wasted opportunities.”

Experience abroad

Born in Beirut in 1953, Salam began his career as an academic and lecturer at universities including the American University of Beirut (AUB), the Sorbonne in Paris and Harvard University in the United States.

He served from 2007 to 2017 as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations, where he “created a foreign policy when Lebanon had none,” said Mawad, who interned for Salam during his UN tenure.

A lawyer and judge, Salam joined the ICJ in 2018 and became its president in 2024. He presided over the ongoing case in South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal. He also worked on UN resolutions, including 1701, which is the basis for current ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Salam’s friends and former colleagues described him as humble, intellectual and someone intimately familiar with the inner workings – and flaws – of the Lebanese political system.

Karim Emile Bitar, a political analyst who knows Salam, described the prime minister as a firm believer in the rights of the Palestinian people, Lebanese Arab identity, Lebanese national unity and “a new social contract based on democratic citizenship, not confessionalism.”

Confessionalism is a reference to the country’s political system, which divides positions of power by religious sects. Salam, as a Sunni Muslim, is eligible for the post of prime minister, but not president, which is reserved for Maronite Christians.

“He is truly a man of integrity,” Hilal Khashan, a political scientist who worked with Salam at AUB, told Al Jazeera. “He understands that the Lebanese political system needs to be reformed, and for him the issues of responsibility and transparency and accountability mean a lot.”

Multiple people interviewed said Salam’s government agenda is likely to focus on reforming the political system, ensuring accountability for crimes in Lebanon – including August 4, 2020, an explosion in the port of Beirut and banking crisis – and defending the independence of the Lebanese judiciary.

“He has always been into reform, change and progressive movements, and I hope he will be successful in transforming all of that into a political platform,” Ziad Majed, a political scientist, told Al Jazeera.

Change?

Salam may come from a family that includes two former prime ministers, but he is largely seen as a technocrat.

While other technocrats have been appointed to positions in the Lebanese government in the past, experts say that regional developments – including cease-fire between the Shia militia Hezbollah and Israel, the weakening of Iran and the fall of Bashar al-Assadregime in Syria – changed the political reality in Lebanon.

The influence of Iran and al-Assad in the country has weakened, and the support of Western and Gulf states, which have long softened their relations and support for Lebanon due to Hezbollah’s powerful role in the country, seems to be on the rise.

The very ascension of Salam and Aoun to their new roles is seen as evidence of the weakening of Hezbollah, which wanted individuals perceived to be more supportive of the group to take those positions.

Salam and Aoun may choose to exploit Hezbollah’s weakness after the group lost most of its leadership in the war against Israel, including its longtime boss Hassan Nasrallah.

In his speech on Tuesday, Salam said his hands were “outstretched to all,” including Hezbollah, after members of the group reacted negatively to the appointment of a new prime minister.

It is not clear whether Hezbollah and its allies will allow Salam to implement the reforms he deems necessary for Lebanon or resist decisions they see as weakening Lebanon’s resolve against Israel or bringing it into the pro-Western regional camp.

For now, Salam believes that he is in a position to implement his desired national program.

“He was very interested in those terms because he wouldn’t take this job if he was set up to fail,” Mawad said. “He knows Lebanon like no one else.”